Cargo cult democracies

The world is in the midst of an interesting transition. More and more nations are becoming what can be described as “cargo cult” democracies. This is a nation ruled by an authoritarian government, which has come to power via electoral processes. Such authoritarian governments maintain the forms of democracy, while ignoring the underlying principles, and corrupting the institutions which are supposed to prevent abuse.

Cargo cults are interesting constructs. During World War II, as the US fought Japan across the Pacific Ocean, both sides built military bases on many islands.  The islanders were subsistence-level fishermen. They were co-opted as labour to